bambinomartino

This subforum seems to be more geared toward rewards, so I'm sorry if I am posting in the wrong place.

I had a very unpleasant phone call this morning that's got me reassessing my relationship with AmEx Biz Plat.

My monthly spend has never exceeded $10K. Maybe once? Last month I made a large purchase which pushed up my balance to over $30K. They were okay with that 25K purchase, and it went through.

While there aren't any credit limits, I understand that there are "thresholds" after which AmEx is not willing to extend further credit. That's fine, and apparently once I crossed into the 30s, they decided to give me a rest and suspend my spending privileges. Fine by me, no recurring payments from this account and I've got plenty other credit cards to put things on.

I got a call last week, which I thought was a courtesy one, telling me just that, and that they would need me to pay down the balance in half (that alone ticked me off a little bit: they were fine with a $25K purchase but all of a sudden wanted the balance reduced to $15k??). I told them basically that I have no issue with not using the card for the next 2 weeks, and that I could make a payment if I really had to. They took that to mean that I was going to make a payment before I was contractually obligated. I got a call a few days after that, during which I told them in no uncertain terms that I'll just wait until my next billing cycle, and that they will get the full statement balance payment on or before the due date.

Today's call was a little different, as the person on the phone basically accused me of lying (she used the term "broken promise", subsequently used by another agent in their credit department when I called later in the day when I had more time), and in essence threatened me with some undefined consequences. That really upset me. They are getting the full balance due on time (a day or two early in fact, I don't want to risk it), and from what I understand that is all I am required to do.

What consequences might she have been referring to, and should I be concerned (and am I wrong to be a little upset)?

davidlhanson

I don't have an AmEx Platinum yet (planning on getting one in a few months). For the high credit limit cards I do have (CSR and AmEx Delta Platinum both with more than $30,000 credit limits), if I charge more than $10,000, I pay off the balance in a few days. Keeps everybody happy.
I will do the same with the AmEx Platinum. If AmEx or Chase called, I would have jumped and paid it off that day.

mia

This is a common misconception. American Express charge cards have no preset spending limits. This does not mean there is no limit, only that it's flexible. American Express evaluates individual transactions based on your spending history, and the information they have about your income and assets (which may be incomplete).

They approved this particular $25,000 transaction, but they might have rejected a smaller transaction attempted at a different type of merchant. In other words, the decision isn't only numerical.

Now, they are telling you that you cannot use the account until it is paid down to a specific level. They expect you to be able to pay on demand. An expectation is not the same as a requirement. They think you agreed to do so, but that's not what you meant.

The most likely consequence is a Financial Review in which American Express will suspend your account(s) and request some financial documentation to verify your income (and perhaps the business' income.) All card issuers have a similar procedure. If your spending is supported by your financial resources the review should allow you to spend more in the future.

Discussion here:

Financial Review discussion

Okto

I would be VERY upset. They have no issue approving a 25K charge on the spot, but a few days later they have second thoughts and, essentially, demand instant payment.
If this charge was going to be an issue for them, for any reason, then they should've declined it to begin with.

I'd rather be told "no" upfront than "yes" with "unspecified consequences".

trikotret

SPLP007

SLIMMY!! YES TODAY-
YOU DO IT TODAY--
TOMORROW THEY TAKE IT BACK --

HOW WOULD U LIKE TO BUY LAND -START TO BUILD YOUR HOUSE AND LATER TOLD - I WANT MY LAND BACK

If AMX would have said-- we made an error - either you pay early the outstanding or we will "TEMPORARILY STOP OFFERING YOU A CREDIT LINE UNTIL WE RECEIVE YOUR FULL PAYMENT -I would be OK with that

halamadrid

As MIA discusses above, just the prospect of having to deal with a financial review would've made me pay down the account right away (now, I understand that cash flow issues with a business may make this difficult). Now that they think you agreed to pay down the balance and didn't, it may further incentivize them to conduct a financial review even if it's just to assess how much they let you spend in the future. I'm not saying that a FR will happen, but seeing as how you've already gotten t 3 calls already in short succession would indicate that they care about this so I would pay it down just to have them move on (not saying that it's right on their part though).

bambinomartino

Thanks for all the feedback. I was aware of the FR issue, but it never crossed my mind that it may apply to me. If it comes to that, no problem. I did state my actual income when I applied, and that's when my business was in its infancy, so I think that If it happens, it will be just a small annoyance.

When I logged on to their website today, the "spending privileges" warning was gone, although the balance was still showing over $30K, so I called them to inquire. It was a bit peculiar that while I selected my usual "card services" option, the person who picked up the phone was a supervisor in their credit department.

In fairness, she was very pleasant. She could see the full payment in their system, although they hadn't processed/posted it yet (the due date is on the 20th), and told me that she can lift the suspension early. She asked if I wanted to start using the card right away, to which I replied no, I don't really need to, which she seemed disappointed to hear.

We chatted a bit about the situation, and she assured me that everything is peachy, and how they love me, and my perfect payment record, etc. She went into an explanation as to how they determine the limits. Basically, they do an average of the spending over the past 6 months plus a bit of a cushion. If I wanted to make an oversize charge, just to call them beforehand (which I had sort of done by testing the spending power function on their website) in order to avoid any issues.

I'm guessing at some point they though, crap, what if he decides not to pay this?!?! Now that they got their money they've decided to be nice again, with the possibility of a financial review. Oh well.

Too bad the wife and kids (and I) have got so accustomed to the airport lounge benefit. Otherwise I would seriously consider cancelling the account over this episode.

bambinomartino

And to think that I could have avoided all that by just putting that payment on one of my TD Visa Travel cards and got 1.5% (in essence) cash back, which is pretty good for here in Canada...

mia

Is your American Express card also issued in Canada?

dreamspeed

bambinomartino

Yes, Canada. I should have mentioned that in the original post. Does it change anything?

mia

Possibly not, but by mentioning Canada in the thread Title we may attract replies from other Canadians who know more about Amex Canada's specific practices and policies.

platbrownguy

I had something similar happen in 2017 (I have a US Platinum Business card). I didn't have a single large charge but rather a lot of activity, 4x my normal monthly spend. Everything went through but then a couple days later I got the "suspended privileges" warning. I called and was told essentially that if I wanted to keep using the card, I would have to pay down the balance, and that they would lift the suspension and reinstate my ability to charge in direct proportion to my payments (so I paid a few grand in order to be able to charge a few grand). They also asked when I'd be able to pay it down to $xxxx (which was, I learned, my 6-month average), and I gave them a date a few weeks in the future (between closing date and due date). I got some notification (could have been snail mail) of my "promise to pay" -- sounds similar to your situation. I ended up paying the card down to zero not long thereafter when some revenue came in, so it was no big deal.

All in all, presumably because the agents I got were quite good at explaining the situation, I didn't get any sort of negative feeling from it at all. Also have never had a financial review so I wouldn't necessarily think that you'll have one imminently.

fliesdelta

If one has multiple Amex cards, do they consider the spend on just the Platinum card (for example) or on all of the cards, to determine the limit as described above?